Photograph by Demian Torres-Bohl
Cafe + Velo owners Jeff Demetriou (an Atlanta artist and cyclist) and Benjamin Boisson (owner of Atlanta Beltline Bikes) want you to drive your car less. The duo opened a cozy, unpretentious coffee shop on Edgewood in hopes that it would appeal to Atlanta’s cycling and pedestrian community—it’s easily accessible by foot, bike lanes, MARTA, and the Atlanta streetcar, and has rack space for over twenty bikes.
Photograph by Jennifer Zyman
Inside, you cannot escape the cycling theme. Black and white videos of cyclists project on the walls, which are also decorated with the vehicles themselves). A “Wall of All” gallery prominently displays 75 photos of famous cyclists, civil rights leaders, artists, poets, thinkers, and activists. The cafe also rents 8-speed city commuter bikes ($35 per day/$200 per week), and a vending machine, “The Bike Box,” dispenses bike parts, tools, and accessories.
Photography by Jennifer Zyman.
Since this is a French-inspired cafe (Boisson is a native of France), it hosts an in-house French baker/chef, Eric Dauce, who makes traditional staples such as éclairs, macarons, and croissants. The croissants are the foundation for the cafe’s menu of “crandwiches,” breakfast and lunch sandwiches that are, of course, all named after types of bicycles. (There’s even one named after the old-timey penny-farthing.) While they aren’t traditionally French, the croissant sandwiches are the cafe’s more substantial offering beyond muffins, cookies, and the like. Coffee drinks are exceptionally made and use Atlanta favorite Octane Coffee.
Photograph courtesy of Jeff Demetriou.
For a location on Edgewood, Cafe + Velo has a ton of outdoor space. There’s a lovely courtyard with lots of tables and chairs, a miniature croquet court, and a roof deck where they’ll hold morning yoga. With the crisp fall weather in the air, this is fast becoming my new favorite place to hang out and work.
Cafe + Velo
381 Edgewood Ave. SE
M-F 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
S-S 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
